Thomas G. Javier

(Thomas’ favorite quote)

Our beloved Thomas Garrido Javier was born on June 8, 1936, to parents Jesus Javier and Ramona Garrido Javier in Agana, Guam. He was the baby of the family. His siblings were sisters Brigida, Josefina, and Isabelle. He also had a brother named Francisco who was actually the first Guamanian casualty of the Korean War in 1950. As a result, Ramona Garrido Javier was awarded a purple heart for her son’s service.

More than fifty years ago, in 1963, Thomas and Ramona were two innocent and fun-loving dance partners who loved to gather once a week to enjoy the popular music, dance moves, and conversation with family and friends that was popular back then in Guam. Naturally, their undeniable chemistry from dancing led to an exciting and budding romance when the two lovebirds began dating. Now dating back then was nothing like dating today; back then, no one, no two people, went out alone. It just wasn’t acceptable by popular standards. To get things going, Thomas, about one year later, gave Ramona a ring and they were married at St. Anthony’s Church in Tamuning, Guam, in 1964.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Javier soon made their way to San Diego, California to start their lives together as husband and wife. They had three boys – Raymond Thomas, Jeffrey Jon, and Ryan Michael. Raymond and Ryan exhibit their knowledge and expertise as manufacturing engineers at Northrop Grumman in San Diego, California. Jeffrey is a fifth-grade teacher in Spring Valley, California. Thomas and Ramona’s “team” of grandchildren include Kiana Rae, 14, Kassie, 12, Lucy Emma, 7, Leo, 5, and Abby, 2. Naturally, Thomas played a major role not only in his sons’ achievements, but in his grandchildren’s achievements as well.

Now Thomas and Ramona did not establish this family by themselves. They had some help. When his oldest son Raymond was born, Thomas and Ramona were blessed to have Macrina (or “Mac” or “Hi!”, depending on who you ask) join the family, who not only helped Thomas and Ramona raise Raymond, but Jeffrey, Ryan, and numerous other babies in the family. Ramona says that Thomas was always spoiled by women…he never had to lift a finger in the house. Ramona was the CEO (Chief Executive Officer), Macrina the COO (Chief Operations Officer).

Thomas graduated from Lincoln High School in San Diego, California, in 1954. Because of his love and expertise for dance, Thomas worked as a dance instructor in San Diego at the Arthur Murray School of Dance. After a brief but honorable two years in the US Navy, Thomas settled into a 23-year career in retail sales with Leeds and The Wild Pair, where he was able to use his personality, quick wit, and his undeniable charm to woo customers into buying women’s shoes and accessories.

In his spare time, one thing Thomas loved to do was to go fishing. He would spend hours upon hours at Shelter Island, sporting his signature camouflage jacket (no matter what the weather was like), his handy little cooler full of libations, his trusty fishing pole, and his tackle box. In addition to fishing, he loved music. He loved playing his brown, yellow, and orange sunburst guitar. Some of his favorite songs to sing and perform were “This Boy”, by the Beatles, “Walk Don’t Run”, by the Ventures, and “Misty”, by Johnny Mathis. His love of music and the guitar inspired his sons Jeffrey and Ryan to adopt the hobby as well. Before he joined the St. Michael’s Church Choir, he loved singing at home with various iterations of karaoke devices, from portable cassette-tape contraptions to his most current MagicSing karaoke microphone. His “bread & butter” songs were “Unforgettable”, by Nat King Cole, and “The Shadow of Your Smile”, by Frank Sinatra. Last but not least, Thomas endured many a restless Sunday supporting his San Diego sports teams the Chargers and the Padres.

Thomas’ biography cannot be complete without sharing some of his famous and lauded idiosyncrasies. For one, Thomas was excruciatingly obsessed with his hair. He was so obsessed that he would always check himself in the mirror. He would shriek if someone “accidentally” rolled down his window in the car. In his bedroom closet, he has a collection of dust-riddled hats that no one claims to have seen him wear. He loved to tell jokes. His favorite was “Did you hear about the kidnapping? He woke up!”. He was also known to be more than anxious to leave. For example, he would be in the car, waiting for everyone to come out, when the rest of the family was a good 20 minutes from being ready! Last but not least, Thomas, as perfect as he was, struggled as a gift giver to his loving wife Ramona, no matter how hard he tried. For every one of their anniversaries or for Ramona’s birthday, it was a common occurrence for Thomas to unveil either a shoebox with shoes or some type of women’s handbag from the store he was working at, and for Ramona to be largely disappointed. His children always held their breaths during his gift exchanges!

We will forever miss you with every old memory, thought, or experience, and we will forever miss you with every new memory, thought, or experience. Thank you for all that you were and still are to each and every one of us.